Ret'urcye Mhi
by aragornwen
Summary: Rana does something illconsidered and rash. Several years after When's Lunch?
1. Chapter 1

Rana tossed back the small glass and set it firmly down on the bar. _Impossible._ Why did she even try- It was good she'd left when she had, or she might've ended up killing him. Even sitting here, her fingers itched for something to throw. A good brawl might loosen her up a bit, but the dingy little cantina was unusually quiet this evening. This was probably just as well… In her present mood, she'd probably end up breaking the nose of whoever tried to throw her out.

She rubbed distractedly at the scar along her cheekbone, trying not to think about Jus but finding him impossible to avoid. What exactly had they been arguing about…? It had seemed terribly important at the time, but the details seemed oddly hazy now. All she really remembered was shouting something and storming out, slamming the door behind her nearly in Jus's surprised and angry face. She swore quietly under her breath and took another drink.

Her head snapped around to face the door as a figure in dull silvery armor stepped through it. _Oh. Him._ She wondered vaguely what he was doing here of all places, but dismissed the thought. Swirling the dregs of her drink, she stared morosely at the clear liquid in the bottom of her glass and tried to think of something besides Jus.

She ignored the scraping of the stool on the floor beside her until a low, rough voice with a Concord Dawn accent spoke her name. She looked up at the silver plates. "What do you want, Fett?"

"I have a profitable proposition for you," he answered. "You're one of the best hand-to-hand fighters I know. How would you like to help train one of the best armies the galaxy has ever seen?"

Rana snorted dryly. "Flattery gets you nowhere with me, so it's a good thing I'm pretty sure you're telling the truth. Training soldiers, huh?"

He slipped off his silver helmet, revealing a dark-featured face below close-cropped black hair. "You'll be handsomely reimbursed for your time. The only drawback is you'll have to disappear for a while. No contact with family or friends, or anyone on the outside."

Rana's thoughts went to Jus, and then quickly shied away. "Maybe I'm in the mood to do a little disappearing, and maybe I'm not. Just how much is in it for me?"

He named a figure. She was impressed, in spite of herself, but didn't let it show. "All right, how much time do I have to think?"

He checked the hazy reddish chrono display above the bar. "About two minutes. You're not the only contact on my list."

She frowned suddenly. _Contacts. That fool job he was going to take- not worth my time-_ Her smoldering anger flared a bit. "I think I need to do a little disappearing. Sign me up."

Jango nodded and stood, tucking his helmet under one arm. "Welcome to the _Cuy'val Dar_. You no longer exist. Hope you don't mind rain…"


	2. Chapter 2

Rana leaned back and closed her eyes, massaging her temples exhaustedly. What had she done now? _Utreekov._ She cursed herself silently, wondering what Jus was doing. He'd be half-frantic by now, especially since he couldn't find her. Even after their worst fights, she'd always come back eventually, usually after a good relaxing brawl in some hole-in-the-wall cantina.

She rubbed the scar along her cheekbone. _No good._ She'd never backed out of a contract before, especially not one with this big of a payoff, but- _Wayii._ Some things were more important than creds. She'd go talk to Fett first thing in the morning. She might even apologize…

The door alert snapped her out of her reverie. She stalked to the door and palmed it open, hating every square centimeter of the featureless white walls. The panels hissed quietly open, and she was met by the dispassionate stare of a Kaminoan.

"One pod of the units you will be training is ready for your inspection," it intoned.

Rana gazed coolly up at it. They were ridiculously tall and skinny, and she could probably snap that long gray neck with two fingers, if she was ever so inclined. "All right," she said, not sure if it expected an answer or not. "Not like I have anywhere else to be."

It nodded, a graceful swaying motion. "This way."

She followed it along identical white corridors until it finally halted before a door exactly like the hundred others they had already passed. "This pod has been designated as Sigma Squad," it said as the panels slid back into the wall. "You may spend as much time with the units as you like."

Rana nodded curtly and strode into the room to see four identical small boys standing stiffly at attention. She swallowed involuntarily. _Talyc haran. Kids. Little kids. What have I gotten myself into?_

But the boys' sole attention was focused on her now, and she couldn't turn around and go hunt down the cursed aiwha bait now. She took a deep breath. "Hello there, _vod'ike_."

The woman, who seemed to be the tallest human RC-4758 had ever seen, looked down at him and his three brothers. "Now, I'm supposed to train you, teach you everything I know and more. You're going to be the best, but you still have to learn to be the best. You're probably going to mess up- fierfek, I'll probably make mistakes too- and that's just fine, as long as you learn what not to do next time from 'em."

RC-4760, standing next to 58, raised his hand. The woman stopped and nodded at him. "Yeah?"

"What's fierfek, ma'am?" he asked.

The woman blinked. "Uh… nothing you need to repeat."

60 nodded thoughtfully. "Like kriffing and _di'kut_, then."

"Uh, yeah. Don't say those. I probably shouldn't have- Where'd you learn that, anyway? Never mind, I don't want to know." She cleared her throat slightly before continuing. "Now, I never have been very good with kids, so I apologize in advance." Her lips seemed to form an F, but she quickly caught herself. "I'm not even that good with animals." She bit her lip, staring down at them. "Oh, for- good stars, don't just stand there like that. I'm not going to eat you if you move. Sit down."

58 sat obediently on the floor, perfectly synchronized with his brothers. The woman looked taken aback. "Shades. How- No. Look, I don't do well with _aruetyc_ military chains of command, but I'd probably make a lousy mother, too, so how about we just forget the formalities?"

58 wasn't sure if she actually meant for them to answer the question, or if it was one of those orders that just pretended to be questions. It didn't matter anyway. "Yes, ma'am," he chorused with his brothers.

He couldn't name the woman's expression. "All right, ma'am it is then. Suppose it's better than you just calling me Rana, and I'm definitely not Sergeant Talgal. Except to the aiwha bait, of course."

60 raised his hand again. "What's aiwha bait, Ma'am? Is that like f-"

She interrupted him hurriedly. "No, it's just what we call the Kaminoans when they're being _talyc_ xenophobic child-murderers, which is any time."

60 nodded, considering. "So that means we can say aiwha bait?"

"As long as they can't hear you. They might not like to hear the truth coming from you _ad'ike_."

60 grinned. "I like that. Can we say _talyc_ xenophobic child-murderers too?"

Ma'am nodded. "Under the same terms as aiwha bait."

60 nodded cheerfully. "Yes, ma'am. Orun Wa is an aiwha bait and a _talyc_ xenophobic child-murderer!"

The woman's grin matched 60's. "Well said, _vod'ika_."

Once safely back in her quarters, Rana collapsed into a chair and buried her face in her hands. _Haarchak._ She couldn't leave now, and abandon those boys to the _talyc Kaminiise_. She bit her lip. _Sorry, Jus. If I ever get out of here, I'll explain everything. If you don't shoot me on sight, anyway. I wouldn't blame you if you did._

She took one last shuddering breath, then stood and stretched. The choice was made, then. One more bridge burned, and no use sticking around to watch the smoke.


	3. Chapter 3

Rana stalked down another blank white corridor, vowing to download plans of the _talyc_ place to her HUD as soon as she got back to her quarters. She didn't think she was completely lost, but she didn't exactly know where she was, either. Honestly, would it take that much effort to just put in a few signs, or at least anything to use as a landmark? It probably wouldn't, but the _talyc_ Kaminoans wouldn't bother anyway. _They_ never got lost, or at least never that she could tell, and so the troubles of lesser species were of no concern to them.

Finally, she reached a portion of featureless corridor that seemed vaguely familiar. She counted doors and placed a hand against the sensor panel beside one. It didn't open. She frowned and tried again. Nothing. She swore and slapped the panel, which beeped complainingly. _Great. Just- _talyc_- great._ She resisted the urge to shoot the panel, since that would accomplish nothing except relieving some of her frustration. Increasing the volume of her invective slightly, she recounted doors. It was the right one, or so she thought. She tried it again, pulling off one black glove this time. Another failure. She narrowed her eyes and kicked the door, leaving a scuff mark on the featureless monochromatic surface.

As she was reconsidering her next attack on it, the door slid open to reveal a tall, grim-faced man in black armor. "May I ask just why you are assaulting my door?" he inquired, voice calm and measured.

Rana blinked. _Oops._ "Sorry, thought mine was just malfunctioning. Can't find anything in this _talyc_ place."

He nodded, one eyebrow slightly raised. "I can sympathize." From behind Rana, there was a yelp, and she turned to see a mass of golden fur shambling along the corridor toward them.

Rana curled her lip at the smell. "Not another _talyc _strill."

The man raised the eyebrow a bit more. "Come, Mird!" The creature broke into a run and skidded to a halt in front of him, depositing an adoring puddle of drool on his boots. "Not fond of strill, are you?" he asked, scratching its massive head. It whined happily, leaning against him and leaving more saliva on his pants.

So the beast belonged to him. She'd put her boot in it this time. Not that she could do much about it anyway… "Not particularly, no," she answered coolly.

He nodded stiffly. "I wish you luck in finding your door, then." He snapped his fingers, and the strill padded inside. The door hissed shut behind it, leaving Rana standing once more in the empty hallway, staring at the mark her kick had left on the door.

_Well, fierfek._ She was back where she'd started, with nothing but the lingering aroma of strill. She stalked toward the end of the hall, counting doors, and suddenly realized that she'd come from the wrong end of the hall. She started from the far end, counting doors again, and this time the door slid open with no problem. She collapsed into a chair, muttering profanities and wondering just what she'd done to deserve a week like she'd had.


End file.
